A CREWE woman is accused of kidnapping her gay lover at knifepoint and taking her on a ride of terror.

A CREWE woman is accused of kidnapping her gay lover at knifepoint and taking her on a ride of terror.

Lesley Hodkinson, 27, who used to live at the Liberal Club run by her parents in Gatefield Street, has denied threatening to kill Samantha Barker, 21, who worked as a topless model until joining the police.

A court heard how the pair became lovers in June 1998 while Miss Barker was a dance student at the Manchester Metropolitan University in Crewe.

They moved to Rochester last autumn after Miss Barker, who had also worked as a barmaid at the Limelight Club in Crewe, landed a job with Kent Constabulary.

They lived together but their relationship was volatile and there were arguments, Maidstone Crown Court was told, and when Hodkinson, a bus driver who served in the Army, introduced Miss Barker to a female colleague at the bus depot she was jilted.

She made phone threats against the couple, it was claimed, and police were called after she turned up at Miss Barker's door.

Four days later, on March 8, she turned up again, let herself in and dragged Miss Barker barefoot to her car, holding a six-inch kitchen knife at her neck.

She drove for 100 miles, heading towards Dover.

She asked if Miss Barker loved her new partner and threat ened to speed off a cliff.

Prosecutor Simon Russell Flint added: 'She gave Miss Barker the clear and terrifying impression that something awful was going to happen to her, that her life was in danger and may shortly come to an end. Fortunately, she didn't take things that far.'

She stopped at the side of the motorway and prodded Miss Barker's thigh with the knife and then drove back. Miss Barker managed to escape.

Hodkinson, of Jasmin Close, Chatham denies kidnapping, harassment and making threats to kill.

Her mother Kathleen, who runs the Liberal Club with husband Alan Hodkinson, told the Chronicle: 'These last few months have been a nightmare, with Lesley in Holloway awaiting trial.

'We found out at 19 she was gay, and being a mother who is very close to her daughter, I supported her.

'I'm travelling down to see her every two weeks and she is being strong for me.